Super Sedans! The 9 Most Powerful Four-Doors in America

You already know the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful sedan on Earth. Here's how it stacks up against the much more expensive competition from Benz, Bimmer, Rolls, and Bentley, with a "cost per HP" calculation, to boot.

Super Sedans! The 9 Most Powerful Four-Doors in America

Super Sedans! The 9 Most Powerful Four-Doors in America

It’s official: The Hellcat name is too good to slap on only the Dodge Challenger SRT. Indeed, the introduction of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat brings the badge and its bodacious 707-hp supercharged V-8 powertrain into the realm of the four-door sedan—because think of the families, you know?

After the smoke from our burned-rubber four-door fantasies subsided, we started pondering the other megahorsepower production sedans on which the Charger Hellcat is ready to pounce like so many unsuspecting, overfed hamsters.

As with any list, we established criteria for inclusion and exclusion. We decided that only true sedans with enclosed trunks counted, to keep the comparison with the Charger SRT Hellcat honest. So that knocked out five-doors such as the Porsche Panamera Turbo S and the Audi RS7. (Either way, the Hellcat out-horsepowers them.) In addition, we used the base version of each model to establish our power rankings; performance options that increase horsepower—like the BMW M5’s Competition package—did not count, although we do mention their availability.

Another point: The "(or so)" part of our title results from our grouping together of different models from a single manufacturer that use the same powertrain. This was done in the spirit of inclusion and also to ensure some variety—who wants to see three Mercs listed in a row?

Finally, to assist in parsing all that power and guide you toward the best bang for your buck, we calculated the price of performance with a handy "cost per horsepower" figure. Now, enough with the talk—on to the list!

BMW M5 / M6 Gran Coupe: 560 HP

BMW M5 / M6 Gran Coupe: 560 HP

Only in a world where a 707-hp monster sedan reigns supreme could the mighty M5 and M6 Gran Coupe find themselves last on our list. Both can be ordered with a Competition package that boosts output to 575 horsepower, but equipping them as such would only move them up only one spot. And while the special-edition 30 Jahre M5 makes 600 horsepower, only 30 of those will be sold in America; if you haven't ordered yours yet, it’s already gone.